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It will be fair to say that in just two movies, the Timothée Chalamet-starrer Dune franchise has managed to make a stellar mark in history with respect to the overall sci-fi landscape in Hollywood. Starring the likes of Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet, the series is based on Frank Herbert’s novels under the same name and grossed around $406 million with the release of Dune in 2021.
The recently released Dune: Part 2 has already surpassed its predecessor and has so far earned $579.5 million. The series, created by Dennis Villeneuve, has garnered praise for a variety of reasons. Among them is the fact that the creator himself, is a self-professed fan who wanted to depict the extent of the lore in the epic world that Herbert created way back in 1965.
Another reason is the way one of the main stars, Timothée Chalamet, has depicted the various nature and tendencies of an epicly written character in the form of Paul Atreides.
The son of Leto I Atreides, the first movie seemingly depicts Atreides emerging as the messiah of the Fremen. While that did not quite translate in the second movie, Chalamet’s depiction of the character, shrouded in mystery and tease, is another reason why the Dune series appears well on its way to further continue to amaze fans. Here, we look at the reasons why Chalamet has emerged as the perfect Paul Atreidis in the Dune series thus far.
Disclaimer: The article reflects the opinion of the writer. The article may also contain spoilers for the movie. Reader's discretion advised.
3 Reasons why Timothée Chalamet is the perfect Paul Atreides for Dune
3) Chalamet’s poise as the messiah
Chalamet, who has previously depicted a young Henry V in Netflix’s The King, was seen taking up the mantle of the Fremen’s savior, in the first movie. Seen as the Kwisatz Haderach, which directly translates to someone who can possess immeasurable power, fans see the rise of a character who manages to organically influence multiple generations of people into seeing him as their savior.
Atriedes’s sheer narcissism, coupled with his powers, hide away the most obvious superpower that the character possesses. His ability to portray himself as a messiah, despite being a human being burdened with responsibility, effectively convinces not only his followers, but himself as well, of a lie that leads to suffering for an entire planet and its inhabitants.
2) Paul Atreides’s subtle disintegration
The first movie sees Paul Atreides begin his long journey on the path to self-discovery. Already seen as a messiah, audiences get to see subtle hints that Atreides’s plans are already doomed in the first movie. The actor was obviously armed with the information of the kind of direction Denis Villeneuve wanted to take not just with respect to Atreides himself, but with respect to the overall series as well.
In what was a series introduction filled to the brim with easter eggs for the book readers, Chalamet depicted a character which in some ways is very similar to Game of Thrones’ Daenerys Targaryen. After being seen as the absolute hero of the saga, Atreides emerges as a villain, and causes unimaginable loss to those who buy into his philosophies.
Of course, the fact that he can ride sandworms and see the future also helped. However, much of the way the character of Paul Atreides in the movies fooled the fans comes down to the expert way in which the Beautiful Boy actor made things obvious, perhaps only for those who are fans of the book series.
1) Timothée Chalamet’s ability to maintain mystery
What Timothée Chalamet most obviously succeeded in doing was convincing fans that he was indeed the absolute hero who would go on to forage redemption for a historically enslaved community. From the perspective of the character, fans get to see a remarkable and convincing depiction of a hero, seemingly going from strength to strength as he attempts to collect resources in his bid to overthrow Vladimir Harkonnen from Arrakis.
Seen as the god emperor by the Fremen, Atreides manages to lead an entire species into its doom, much like an evil Pied Piper. What fans find out in the end is that rather than being a messiah, Atreides has been the doom-bringer right from the start, and makes a series of decisions that end up backfiring in a disastrous manner.
The second movie sets the stage for the rise of Paul Atreides’s son, Leto II Atreides, as we see Chalamet’s character getting betrayed by Chani, portrayed by Zendaya. What makes the future of the Dune series utterly exciting for fans is the fact that book readers are well aware of the kind of events that are set to follow, which has expertly been delivered thus far by Timothée Chalamet.
